St. Paul daily globe., 1887-10-15
THE PUBLIC LANDS.
Commissioner Sparks Makes a
Long and Vigorous Report.

Long and Vigorous Report.
Special to the Globe
= WAsHINGToN,9 Oct. 14.-Commissioner
Sparks. of the general land office, has
submitted to the secretary of the in
terror his report for the fiscal year
Ell ded June so, 1887. He says he has no
word to recall that has hitherto been
uttered touching the aggravated misap-
preparations to which public lands have
been subjected through improvident
laws and inefficient methods of admins
tration, and to which they are still ex-
posed under the present wasteful and
fraud-inspiring systems of disposal.
'tIhe operations" continues the report,
''of the past year. as previously, have
been conducted under the discourage
ment of inadequate appropriations, but
with the limited means at my disposal
results have been achieved that confirm
the early statements of the vaStness of
this field of reform, the confines only of
Which have yet been fairly explored"
During the year the total number of
acres of land restored to the public do
main was 81, ,S24, ,4S1, and of the railroad
lands recommended for recovery and
with cases pending there are 9,499, 400
acres. The sales, entries and selections
of public land embrace %, 141 ,401 acres.
and of Indian lands 146, ,637 acres, max
ing a total of 25,S5S, ,03S acres, being an
increase over the year of 1856 of 3, 1885,
474 acres. The receipts from the dis
poSals of public lands was $40, ,743, ,922,
from the sales of the Indian lands
S1,4S4, ,302, a total of 2,26S, ,223, being
an increase as compared with the year
1856 of 1924, 127, to which is to be
added SS,291, received on account of
timber depredatiOns, and S12,493, re-
ceived for certified copies of the records
furnlshad by the general land office,
making the total receipts for the year
from all sources S12,2S0, ,0OS. The COM
missioner reneWS his former recon-
mendation that
FORFEITURE BE DECLARED
in all casts in which land grant rail-
roads were not completed within the
time and Ill the manner conditioned in
the respective grants. The inveStiga-
ton of fraudulent land entries. he SAYS,
has been satisfactorily conducted; and
III no previous year has SO much effect
i've work been done by the small num-
Der of special agents employed. AS
result OF their Investigations 100000
acres were held for cancellation and
$4,000 were cancelled for fraud. Ten
hundred and eleven cases Of depreda-
ton or timber trpSpaSS were reported
upon. and the total amount actually re-
covered to the government during the
year through Judgment, fines, sales of
timber and compromises was Sl2S,642,
being $53.6I2 in excess of the appropria-
tiOnS. nearly all of which was recovered
the first half of the fiscal year. The
recommendations heretofore made by
the land office. and which have been
strongly urged by the forest commits
si0ners Of California, Colorado and
other states are. that all exclusively tim
Der lands oi the United States be Segre-
gated from the area of diSpOSaDle lands
and reserved from general entry. This,
the commissioner says, is unQueStiOn-
ably the first step 10 be taken if forest
lands are To be protected by the govern
meIt. Permanent forest reservations
should then be established where neceS-
sary and suitable measures adopted in
respect TO the disposal Of the remainder.
Of reforms i'll the public land laws the
commissioner says: ''All efforts to Sc
cure reform in the land laws by a re-
peal OF amendments of particular acts
and provisions have failed through the
opposition of interests At variance with
proposed legislation. / am satisfied
that amendments in detail are imprac-
ticable. The time for tinkering has
passed. Existing systems of disposal,
fundamentally defective in the original
instance. have become wholly unSuited
to present conditions. What is needed
in my onini0n is
An IsNJJHE REFORMATION.
of existing laws retaining all absolute
homestead law and UbSoleting all other
forms of disposal of agricultural lands.
Actual residence, Improvement and cul-
tivation for the homestead period of five
years, should be the exclusive condition
OF acquiring title to such lands. 1t
would also appear that the time has ar
rived when the privilege of appropriat-
ing public lands should be confined to
citizens of the United States. The min
eral laws should be so amended as to
preserve the public right of mineral ex-
ploration to citizens of the United
States. and TO prevent monopoly of
native mineral wealth by individuals
and corporations. | know of no good
reason why one location of mineral
lands to one person should not be re-
garded as Il lair distribution of the min
eral privileges, lcaying equal rights to
all other persons. Existing laws do not
specifically restrict mineral entries TO